


i'm warmer in the winter with you

by glazedsun



Category: Fantastic Four, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Getting Together, Jewish Peter Parker, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:23:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazedsun/pseuds/glazedsun
Summary: After a long book tour, Johnny just wants to zone out and ignore everything about the holidays. Unfortunately, Sue and Reed are off at a conference, and Ben and Alicia are on vacation, so he's in charge of Franklin and Valeria. He would have managed to find a way to do that anyway, too, if it wasn't for the guy from the apartment below theirs.or, johnny hates the holidays, and peter is determined to change that.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Comments: 10
Kudos: 177
Collections: MHEA Holiday Movie Challenge 2019





	i'm warmer in the winter with you

**Author's Note:**

> there's not really specific canon elements to this. peter has his powers, but johnny and the rest of the f4 do not. instead, johnny is a romance novel author. also, i got a little hand-wavy with ages to fit my fic better.
> 
> thank you to my cheerleader mika for not only helping me out with this one when i was having trouble making the jump from one part to the next, but giving me plenty of ideas for an eventual sequel to this. thank you as well to rose for looking over some of the Jewish-related aspects of this story. anything that might be wrong was added after and is my mistake alone (and please let me know if that's the case; i did some research/used a bit of personal experience, but i'm always happy to learn more and change as needed!).
> 
> title is from 'warmer in the winter' by lindsey stirling
> 
> happy first night of Hanukkah!

Johnny collapsed face down onto his bed with a groan, burying his face in his pillow. Oh, how he missed this bed. It felt like a cloud, especially after the string of hotel beds he’d just been staying in. He let out a content sigh, closing his eyes. He was just about to fall asleep when he felt the bed dip next to him.

“Uncle Johnny, I’m hungry.”

Johnny swallowed back a groan at the reminder of his agreement to watch the kids. He rolled over onto his side, staring at Valeria. “I guess I should do something about that, huh?”

Val stared back at him, an unimpressed look on her face. “You’re the adult here.”

“Am I?” Johnny asked, flopping onto his back and staring up at the ceiling.

“Mom seems to think so,” Val shrugged.

Johnny glanced over at her, raising an eyebrow. “And you don’t agree?”

Val snorted. “Of course not.”

“Wow,” Johnny said, hand over his heart. “I’m wounded. I don’t know if I can go on.”

Val rolled her eyes. Again. He was going to have to have a talk with Sue and ask where Val got this attitude from, because it certainly wasn’t from him. “Okay, then while you’re being a drama queen up here, we’ll go hang out with Peter. He’s more fun than you.”

Johnny sat up, arms crossed over his chest with a glare. “I resent that, first of all. Second of all, who’s Peter?”

“You really have been gone for a while,” she said. “He works in the labs with Dad. He moved in to one of the apartments a floor down. He’s almost as smart as me.”

“You definitely didn’t get that ego from Reed,” Johnny said under his breath.

“It’s not ego when it’s true,” Val said, a smirk on her face.

Johnny stood up, waiting for her to stand up as well before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Well, come on then. I can’t be upstaged by some nerd. Let’s find some food. And your brother.”

Val made a face. “Do we have to find him?”

Johnny rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh. “Glad some things don’t ever change.”

“Because you and mom are best friends,” Val retorted, making Johnny snort out a laugh.

“Touché. Now let’s go see what that best friend of mine left for us to make.”

A few days go by before Johnny even met the apparently infamous Peter. The kids don’t shut up about him, and when Johnny asked Reed about him, the man started to ramble about how great he is as well. Well, alright then, apparently this guy could walk on freaking water or something.

Because that was Johnny’s life, their actual meeting was incredibly awkward. The kids were both off with friends for the day, so Johnny didn’t even think anything about walking around the building shirtless and in a pair of ratty old sweats that said Spider-man across the back. Ben had gotten them for him a few years ago as a joke, when Johnny’s Spider-man obsession had been at its peak, and Johnny lived in them.

“Nice pants,” came a voice from behind Johnny.

Johnny jumped, his mug of coffee clattering to the floor. “Um,” he said, eloquently, as he turned around to see a guy standing on a ladder, an amused smirk on his face and bright red tinsel trailing behind him as he decorated a ten foot all tree.

“You must be the infamous Johnny Storm,” the guy said, climbing carefully down the ladder before offering his hand to Johnny. “I’m sure Spider-man would be pleased.”

“Because I have a nice ass or because he’s got a fan?” Johnny couldn’t help but say as he bent over to grab the discarded coffee mug after shaking the guy’s hand. He’s gotta hand it to Reed and Sue, this spill-and-break-proof technology is insanely good.

“Knowing him, probably both,” the guy shrugged. “I’m Peter, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. Is this all you?” Johnny motioned around him to the sudden explosion of holiday decorations in the hallway, and around the building in general.

Peter flushed a little, shrugging and running a hand through his messy hair. “Uh. Yeah. I didn’t realize anyone else would be here….”

Johnny raised an eyebrow, sipping his coffee. “So you just… go wild decorating private property when no one is watching? You lead a crazy life there, Peter.”

Peter shifted a little, looking even more embarrassed. Johnny felt a little bad. “Well, I mean. Sue told me it was okay, so I thought I would make it look nice.”

Johnny nodded, looking around at the various trees, lights, and other decorations. Ever since his parents had died, he hadn’t been super big on anything Christmas related. Sue had started getting into it once the kids had come along, but Johnny was over it. Sure, he played along when the kids were younger, but they’re old enough now that he doesn’t have to pretend as much. He did have to admit the place looked good, though. “I mean, it’s a little much for me. But Val calls me Johnny Scrooge, so I’m not a good measuring point,” he shrugged. “It… does look nice. I’m sure the kids love it.”

“This is a little much for you?” Peter asked, giving Johnny a judgmental look that he didn’t appreciate. “I thought you were like… way over the top with everything.”

Johnny shrugged again. “Dunno what to tell you, man. I’ve gotta go call my editor, though, so,” he held up his phone, motioning to the elevator up to the floor he and his family lived on. He felt really awkward all of a sudden, and he wasn’t sure why.

“Yeah, sure, of course.” Peter stuttered. “I should finish this up and clean up my mess.”

“Hey, do what you want. Sue’s the boss around here, so if she said it was cool, then you’re good. I don’t really care one way or the other.”

“Sure, okay, thanks,” Peter said, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the next. “I’ll, uh, see you around probably, if I use the lab.”

Johnny nodded, not looking up from his phone, where he was reading an email from his editor before the phone call. “Have a good one. Nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he barely heard Peter say before Johnny stepped on the elevator, keying in for their secure level.

* * *

_Way to go, Parker_ , Peter thought as he watched the doors close behind Johnny Storm. That was not at all how he’d ever hoped his first meeting with the man would go, and he wasn’t sure what to think of the man.

Things had seemed to be going okay at first, but then things got weird, and honestly, Peter wasn’t sure why. He shook it off and sighed, going back over to the tree he’d been working on. He was determined to get it finished so he’d be able to get a few hours of patrolling in before tackling the stack of exams he had to grade. It was a clear night, so he should be able to get some pictures to sell to the _Bugle_. The teaching gig didn’t pay nearly enough, and he wanted to get May some nice gifts. With a few good Spider-man photos, Peter figured, he could get her the purse she’d been eyeing. It probably would mean not being able to get groceries for a week or two either, but at least he’d have plenty of leftovers from May to tide him over. It would be worth it to see her face.

Peter smiled to himself, re-energized after the initial disappointment over his conversation with Johnny. He hummed to himself as he worked on finishing up the tree. He stood back, head tilted, as he took in the twinkling lights, satisfied at the way it reflected off the tinsel and shiny ornaments.

“Looks good,” Franklin said as he walked by.

Peter grinned over at the teenager, holding up his hand for a high five. “Thanks, kid.”

“Wanna come to dinner later? Uncle Johnny will probably order pizza or something.”

Peter immediately thought of his interaction with Johnny earlier; he was pretty sure that the last thing Johnny would want is for Peter to just show up uninvited to dinner. “I’d love to, but I’ve got work to do. Besides, I don’t think your uncle would like you just inviting me over.”

“Probably not, but.” Franklin shrugged, making Peter laugh. “See ya!”

Peter waved and said his goodbyes to the boy before going to his own apartment to get ready for patrolling.

By the time Peter gets home the next evening, he’s so tired that he can barely stand up straight. What had started as an uneventful patrol night turned into a robbery that kept him chasing criminals until well past midnight. He’d stumbled through his window after 2 in the morning, and had managed to fall asleep at the kitchen table, still in his suit and drooling on a pile of biochemistry exams.

Needless to say, after a day of lectures, office hours, and arguing with one of his students (“the Black Cat stole my laptop with all my lab report notes” was not a valid excuse when Peter knew, for a fact, that Felicia was too busy infiltrating Oscorp for petty crimes), all Peter wanted was to have some soup and _go to bed_.

He was so close to making it through the lobby and up to his apartment, too, except he heard a voice that had him looking up. “You look like you got hit by a truck,” came the voice.

Peter looked up, rubbing at his eyes, and _oh_. He blinked a couple of times, startled into silence by the sight of Johnny Storm. The man was shirtless, wearing the same threadbare Spider-man sweats he’d been wearing the other day, carrying a tray full of drinks from the coffee shop by the entrance. It was almost too much for his half-awake brain to take.

“Peter?” Johnny asked, a bit of concern on his face suddenly.

Shit. Peter shook his head in an attempt to clear the fog from his brain. “Sorry,” he laughed awkwardly. “I was up late grading exams. It’s catching up to me.”

Johnny lifted up the tray of drinks. “Want a coffee? They gave me an extra one and you look like you could use it.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “They just… gave you an extra coffee?”

Johnny shrugged. “The barista made it wrong the first time and felt bad, but he gave it to me anyway.”

_Probably was distracted by all… that_ , Peter thought to himself, fighting the urge to rake his eyes over Johnny’s chest. “I was just going to go to sleep.”

“At 7 p.m.?” Johnny asked, eyebrow raised.

Peter leveled a glare at Johnny that had the man stepping back in surprise, which immediately made Peter soften. He forgot, sometimes, how grumpy he can be when he doesn’t get enough sleep. “Sorry,” he laughed, a short, embarrassed sound. “It’s… been a long day.”

After a moment, Johnny’s expression softened as well. “Have you eaten yet?”

Peter blinked, trying to keep his brain from shorting out again. “Um,” he frowned, thinking back on his day. “I stole a donut from one of my coworkers at… 1 today?”

Johnny stared at Peter, a look on his face that made Peter squirm. It was the _God, you’re such an idiot_ look that he usually got from May or MJ whenever he did something especially dumb. “Here,” Johnny sighed, handing Peter one of the cups of coffee. “I’m bringing the kids their cocoa, we were going to make some homemade pizza and start on Christmas cookies. Wanna join us? The kids would love it.”

Peter blinked again, surprised at the offer and feeling his heart warm. After the day he’d had, it was a nice feeling, especially after how awkward their initial meeting was. He was about to say yes, when his heart sank again, remembering all the work he still had to do. “I’ve got more grading,” he said, voice soft with regret.

Johnny shrugged. “So work on it while me and the kids make a mess of the kitchen, if it’s not too distracting. Besides,” he smirked a little, “I thought you were going to bed.”

Peter flushed, laughing a little. “I would have woken up at 3 to do it,” he admitted.

Johnny rolled his eyes. “That’s ridiculous. Come on.” He turned around, heading over to the elevator.

Peter stared at his back, dumbfounded, before obediently following him.

* * *

Franklin and Val were more excited than Johnny expected to see Peter. That’s interesting. How long had Peter been around, and how often, if the kids know him that well? He shook the surprise off, handing them their cocoas.

“We’ve got an observer today, so be on your best behavior,” Johnny joked.

Val, ever the traitor, rolled her eyes. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

Johnny frowned at her, especially when Franklin laughed along. Peter also had an amused look on his face, so Johnny rolled his eyes. “Very funny. Who brought you cocoa again?”

“But not food. I want food,” Franklin said, even as he sipped his hot cocoa.

“Yeah, yeah,” Johnny sighed, feigning annoyance even though he was actually amused. “Let’s get to work. Peter, make yourself comfortable wherever, we’ll keep out of your way.”

He watched as Peter collapsed into a chair, sighing to himself and closing his eyes for a moment. Well, if he wanted to nap, Johnny supposed he couldn’t stop him. Instead, he turned to his niece and nephew, focusing on them.

Peter was so quiet that Johnny got lost in laughing with the kids, and it wasn’t until they were putting the pizzas in the oven that he even remembered Peter was sitting there.

“Isn’t he cute,” Val whispered when she realized that Peter was dozing off.

Johnny rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head. “Funny, young lady.”

Val winked at him, and Johnny rolled his eyes again. “Just saying. Can we start on the cookies now?”

Johnny sighed a little, but this was a tradition that Sue and the kids had been doing since they were toddlers. Even going into their early teenage years, it was still one of the traditions that they got excited for and didn’t think they were too good for. Of course, usually Sue was helping as well, but he hoped they would still enjoy it. It wasn’t his favorite, but they usually made it fun. At least they weren’t pressing Johnny to play Christmas music.

“Sure, have at it. You guys get everything started, I’m going to wake Peter up and see if he wants to lay down until the pizza’s done instead.”

“Are you going to let him use your bed?” Val said, a lilting sing-song to her voice.

Johnny just looked at her. “Who taught you to be like this?” He sighed.

Val shrugged. “I’ve read your books.”

Johnny let out an undignified squeak, nearly dropping the bag of cheese he was putting away. “Sue has let you _read my books_?”

“To be fair, I don’t think she knows,” Franklin put in from where he was measuring out flour.

“Hey!” Val said, glaring at her brother.

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as he came to terms with the idea that his niece, his little niece, who was still his _baby niece_ in his eyes, had read some of his novels. His gay romance novels. His _erotic_ gay romance novels. “I am having words with your mother over this,” he said slowly, staring at Val once he opened his eyes again. “But no, I am going to offer him the couch.”

“You’re no fun,” Val sighed, but went over to help Franklin anyway.

Johnny rolled his eyes, but went over to gently nudge Peter’s shoulder. The man awoke with a start, looking around frantically like he’d forgotten where he was for a moment. “Hey,” he said, voice softer than usual to try and calm Peter down.

“Shit, did I fall asleep?” Peter asked after a moment, rubbing at his eyes. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Johnny smiled. “Just wanted to say you could go lay down on the couch until the pizza’s ready if you want.”

Peter shook his head. “No, no. I’m okay. I really do need to get this grading done, there’s only a couple weeks left in the semester. Thanks though.”

“Okay. Want me to reheat your coffee at least?”

“Please,” Peter said, handing Johnny the cup before pulling out an obscenely large stack of papers. _Jesus_ , Johnny thought. No wonder he looked so damn exhausted.

“Want me to add some booze to it?” Johnny asked after he glanced down at the papers, blinking at the formulas in front of him.

“Nah, I’m good,” Peter laughed.

Johnny nodded. When the coffee was warmer, he set it back down for Peter, who didn’t even look up but muttered a thanks.

“Alright, so, what are we making?” He asked the kids once he walked back over to them.

It became a thing for a few weeks. Every few days, Johnny would catch Peter stumbling in, half-asleep and loaded with papers. He’d make an excuse about the kids wanting to see Peter, and drag Peter to have dinner with them. Most of the time, Peter would doze off while they were cooking. It had been about the kids at first, because they did like having Peter around, but he and Peter were starting to become friends as well.

He ignored Val’s continued teasing about Peter. It was the last thing he needed, honestly. He was already falling behind on his deadline for the next novel, so he needed to get to work on that.

“You’re adding more decorations?” He asked one day when he saw Peter stringing lights, this time in the lobby.

Peter looked over at him with a grin, shrugging. “It wasn’t nice enough in here.”

Johnny raised an eyebrow. “You really love Christmas, huh?”

Peter grinned a little, shrugging. “I like pretty things.”

Johnny smirked at that, about to throw a comeback, when he was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He let out a long sigh when he realized it was his agent.

“Not good news, huh?” Peter asked as he climbed down the ladder.

Johnny made a face. “My agent.”

Peter let out a low whistle. “Take it you’re behind on a deadline if you’re avoiding the call?”

“How’d you guess?” Johnny laughed.

“I’m a college professor and a PhD student. Dodging deadlines and deans is my specialty.”

Johnny snickered at that. “I knew you had a rebellious side, Parker.”

“Part rebellion, part piss poor time management skills,” Peter shrugged. When Johnny’s phone rang again, Peter raised an eyebrow. “You should probably get that. I have a feeling they’ll keep calling until you answer.”

“Yeah,” Johnny sighed. “See you around.” He waved to Peter, catching the salute he got in return before sending a quick text to his agent and disappearing into the elevator. He’d call back once he got upstairs… and got a drink.

* * *

Peter yawned as he walked out of Reed’s lab that weekend. He’d gotten a sudden inspiration for an upgrade to his suit while he’d been out patrolling the previous night, and had immediately rushed his private corner of the lab where he could work. He’d been there all night, dozing off for about an hour before his stomach started growling at him.

He sighed and locked the suit in a drawer, heading out of the lab to go down to his apartment and make some food before coming back to finish running his calculations. As he walked through the hall, he noticed the light on in one of the offices on the way downstairs. Peter frowned, glancing at his phone to see it was 5 in the morning. Who else could possibly be up at this hour?

His Spidey senses weren’t going off, so Peter didn’t really think twice about going to investigate who it was. He was surprised, then, to see Johnny there, hunched over his laptop and surrounded by piles of notes and presumably empty mugs. He smiled, soft, for a moment as he watched the man before lightly knocking on the door.

Not having expected the sound, Johnny flinched and nearly fell out of his chair in his surprise. Peter fought the urge to laugh because the man looked _rough_. He’d seen Johnny disheveled many times by now- _way_ too many times for his poor bisexual heart to take- but this was, he sensed, more like what he himself looked like after a few all-nighters.

“Agent scared you into writing, huh?” He asked.

Johnny laughed a little, his voice soft and sleepy. “A little that, a little I finally got some good inspiration going for the next book. Pulling an all-nighter too?”

Peter nodded. “I figured out a formula I was having trouble with the other day, so I’ve been working in the lab all night. I was just about to take a break to go get make some food. Do you want to join me?”

Johnny looked at his laptop, frowning. Peter knew that look. It was one he and Reed shared often when they were debating if it was okay to stop what they were working on. “Yeah, okay. I think I’ll be able to pick it up from here later. I just want to finish up this scene. It shouldn’t take long, if you want to have a seat.” Johnny motioned to one of the plush leather couches.

Peter frowned at it, having a feeling that the second he sat down, especially in something that looked so inviting, he’d just fall asleep. Still, it would be awkward if he just stood and watched Johnny. Peter sucked it up and nodded, compromising by sitting on the edge and catching up on his phone while he waited, a distraction to keep him awake as much as it was to keep him from staring at Johnny.

He’d read all of Johnny’s books (not that he’d admitted it to him yet), and, well. Watching him work, knowing exactly the type of stuff Johnny wrote, was stirring things in Peter that he didn’t want to think about.

Peter was sufficiently distracted so that he did not think about those things, and was about to smile when Johnny stood up, except then he realized what Johnny was wearing.

He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. Johnny was wearing only a pair of Spider-man boxers and a t-shirt that was so thin Peter could practically see through it. This man would be the death of him, he was sure. Forget the Vulture, forget Scorpion; shit, forget Goblin. R.I.P. Peter Parker, cause of death: Johnny Storm’s wardrobe.

“What’s with you and Spider-man?” He asked, trying to keep a teasing tone to his voice, but even he could tell it was a bit strained.

“Do you have a problem with Spider-man?” Johnny asked, glaring at Peter.

Peter wanted to laugh at that, but knew that he couldn’t. “No, no. Just curious. Half of your clothes seem to be Spidey themed.”

Johnny shrugged, closing his laptop and walking over to Peter. “He’s the best. He’s just… a genuinely good guy who wants to look out for everyone. He’s also really fun. And his ass looks good in Spandex.”

Peter felt his brain short-circuit at that. If only Johnny knew the things that Peter wanted to do to him. He couldn’t tell him, though; what would a gorgeous, famous, author like Johnny ever want with a dorky biochem professor? “You’ve totally got a crush on Spidey, don’t you?”

“What gay man doesn’t?” Johnny winked at Peter before walking out the door. Peter sputtered, frozen in his spot, feeling an intense jealousy… toward himself? He shook himself out of it, following after Johnny.

“You don’t even know who’s in the suit,” Peter said, ducking around Johnny so that he could lead him downstairs to his apartment.

Johnny shrugged. “I’ve heard enough to know he seems like a good guy. That’s enough for me right now.”

Peter felt his heart lurch, but he just nodded. “He is a good guy.”

“You know him?” Johnny asked, stopping and staring at Peter with wide eyes.

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Sort of? I take pictures of him sometimes.”

It was Johnny’s turn to sputter, his eyes managing to go even wider with the realization. “Oh shit, you’re _the_ Peter Parker?”

Peter turned bright red, nodding. “Uh… I guess, yeah.”

“That’s so awesome,” Johnny said, his voice full of awe, only for it to fade after a minute. “Wait, but why do you sell them to a place like the _Bugle_ , when they’re always so nasty about him?”

Peter shrugged at that, unlocking the door to his apartment. “They’re the only ones paying me for them right now. Spidey pictures are high in demand with Jameson.”

Johnny stared at him for a moment, clearly wrestling with the idea of asking more questions, before they walked in.

“This is not… at all what I expected,” Johnny said as he looked around the apartment.

Peter blinked at that, confused. He knew that his place was smaller than the penthouse where the Storm family, including Ben and Alicia, lived, but it wasn’t _that_ different. And it wasn’t that messy, either; sure, there were some dirty dishes in the sink from the previous night’s dinner, and he had papers everywhere from grading, but… he’d seen worse. He’d _lived in_ worse. “What do you mean?” He finally asked.

Johnny shrugged. “I don’t know. With all the decorating you did downstairs, I just… expected it to look like Christmas threw up in here.”

Oh. That. Okay. He looked around his apartment, which was significantly less decorated. To be fair, a lot of that reason was because in the rest of the Baxter Building, Sue had told him to go nuts and use either what he found lying around (which had been a lot) or use Reed’s credit card to buy more decorations. Here, in his own space, he had a much smaller budget.

It was okay, though. He enjoyed the blue and white lights he had strung up around some of the windows, and really, he had the most important decoration to him up, which was all that mattered.

“I’m not here much, really, so I don’t need much. Other people can see the rest of the building, so I want to share it with them. Besides,” he walked up to the biggest window. There, on the ledge, stood his most prized possession. He ran his finger over the curve of the silver menorah. It had been his mother’s, left to him when she passed. It had been passed down through generations, surviving the Holocaust before coming across to New York with his grandmother. “I don’t celebrate Christmas much, anyway.”

He looked over at the shocked expression on Johnny’s face, and couldn’t help but laugh. “You… what?”

Peter shrugged, walking back over to Johnny, still laughing. “Okay, that was a partial lie. Growing up, I celebrated both because of my aunt and uncle. But they were never religious Christians, so it was kind of… just an excuse to have more celebration. But they made sure to keep me connected with my Jewish roots, even if I wasn’t super religious.”

Johnny nodded slowly, like he was trying to process this information. “So why all the Christmas everywhere else then?”

Peter shrugged again, walking over to his fridge to see if he could find anything worth making for the two of them. He dug around, finding eggs and making sure the date hadn’t passed. The cheese didn’t look too bad, either, though his milk was definitely off. Yikes. “I don’t know. Most people celebrate it, and I’m used to it anyway, you know? There’s more fun options.”

There was only silence in response, and when Peter glanced over at Johnny, he felt like he was being studied. Peter bit his lip, in an attempt to keep from turning red, and got going on the eggs.

“Scrambled okay?” He asked, then motioned to his Keurig. “Feel free to have some coffee.”

“Scrambled is fine, thanks,” Johnny said, going over to make himself some coffee.

Peter didn’t know what to think of the sudden shift in mood, but didn’t press, either. He just focused on the eggs, chalking it up to the exhaustion of all-nighters catching up with both of them.

When Peter walked into the Baxter building a few days later, he was incredibly tense and wound-up. The same student that had been given him trouble before came to office hours to argue again, getting downright nasty with Peter. Of course, Peter couldn’t really say much; this was his first semester of teaching, and he didn’t want to push his luck. It had gotten him worked up, and a whole bunch of other little things kept making his day worse.

Because of this, he barely was paying attention to anything when he first walked in. An unfamiliar glimpse of color caught his eye, though, and he looked up. He stared, mouth gaping open, when he saw what was hanging in one of the huge windows, next to where he’d hung an oversized wreath. Someone ( _Johnny_ , his mind supplied) had managed to rig some blue rope lights into a giant Star of David.

“Like it?” Johnny asked, walking over next to Peter and handing him a coffee.

Without even looking over, Peter mindlessly took the coffee and took a sip. He made a sound when it burned his mouth, glancing down at the coffee in betrayal.

“It’s hot,” Johnny said.

Peter glared at Johnny before looking back up at the lights. “What’s this about?”

“Figured something was missing, and it was that,” Johnny shrugged.

Peter stared for a moment, feeling all the tension from earlier in the day dissipate. He chewed on his lip, refusing to look over at Johnny as he murmured his thanks, knowing he was done for if he did look over.

“Welcome,” Johnny replied, and with Peter’s sensitive hearing, he could hear a quiver to the man’s voice. Peter swallowed, not knowing what to think about all of this. “Val wants to know if you want to come with us to dinner? We’re going to the sushi place she likes.”

Peter had resigned himself to ramen and a very long patrol to take his frustration out on people who were deserving of it. Instead, he had… whatever this was. He took a deep breath, debating if he should actually go, spending money that was supposed to go to May’s gift, or bow out.

“They’d really like it,” Johnny said, elbowing Peter lightly.

Peter melted a little. He couldn’t deny those kids anything; they’d had him wrapped around their fingers from almost the first time he had met them. “Okay, yeah,” he murmured. “I’ve gotta… shower and stuff.”

“Meet you down here in an hour? I’ve got a couple emails to send out, and the kids are finishing up their homework.”

Peter nodded, and turned to watch Johnny walk away, his heart beating fast.

* * *

“Did Peter see it?” Valeria asked immediately when Johnny walked through the door.

“Hi, Johnny, it’s nice to see you, how was your day? School sucked because I’m smarter than my teachers, but lunch was good,” Johnny said, in a terrible imitation of Val’s voice.

Val leveled a glare at Johnny that was eerily similar to the many he’d gotten from Sue over the years. “Well?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Johnny replied, nose up in the air as he sat down at the table, taking a sip of his coffee. When she just continued glaring at him, Johnny rolled his eyes. “Of course he did, Val. It’s three feet tall, how could he not?”

“He’s not always the most observant,” Franklin piped in from where he was sitting, working on his homework.

“Did he like your gesture of _loooove_?”

“For the tenth time, child, it was not a gesture of love,” Johnny groaned. “I was doing something nice, because he was nice enough to do all that decorating for you.”

“Suuure,” Val crooned. “Is he coming to dinner?”

“Yes, and you better be on your best behavior. None of this, got it?”

Val nodded eagerly, a shit-eating grin on her face. “Of course!” She bounded off to her room, leaving Johnny to roll his eyes at Franklin.

Val doesn’t let up at all in the next few days. She’s as subtle as can be around Peter, but relentless around Johnny. He has no idea where she even got this idea from. Despite writing romances, it wasn’t anything he himself had really thought about or wanted at the time. He couldn’t remember the last relationship that he’d even really had.

“Come on, please?” She was whining that day, trying to get Johnny to take them out ice-skating in front of the giant tree. Big crowds and way, way too much Christmas music sounded like torture to him.

“I’ve got work to do,” he sighed, knowing full well that she was wearing him down. She knew it, too.

Peter walked by at that moment, of course. He’d been working with Franklin on some math thing that Johnny couldn’t even pretend to understand. “What won’t he do now?”

“I want to go ice skating,” Val full on _pouted_ at Peter. Oh, she was good.

Peter looked over at Johnny, raising an eyebrow. “And why won’t you take them ice skating?”

“Like I keep telling her, I have a book that’s not going to write itself,” Johnny glared at her, knowing that it was done for now.

“Surely you can take a few minutes out of your writing for some holiday cheer!” Peter frowned at Johnny.

“Traitor,” Johnny sighed, glaring at Peter, who grinned back at him. “Alright, fine, fine. We can go. But Peter is coming with.” Val and Franklin both cheered, and Johnny rolled his eyes. “You know, if I was a lesser person, I would think you liked him more than me.”

“You’d be right,” Val said cheerfully.

“Watch it,” Johnny said, giving Val a warning look, even though they both knew that he was kidding. “Now go get ready or we’re not going.”

* * *

Peter leaned against the side of the skating rink, watching Johnny with his niece and nephew. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched them. For all the shit that the two of them seemed to give Johnny, they clearly adored him. He wasn’t sure what Johnny’s hang-ups about the holidays were, but once he let his guard down, he seemed to be able to get into it more.

“That your husband?” The man next to Peter asked, nodding in the direction of Johnny and the kid. “You’ve got lovely kids.”

“Oh, no,” Peter stuttered, turning bright red. “Those are his sister’s kids. He’s just…” he hesitated for a moment, surprised that he wasn’t sure how to continue. What _was_ Johnny to him? They hadn’t met long ago… but then again, he already considered Johnny to one of his closest friend. So, friend it was, then. “He’s a good friend.”

The man nodded, seeming to consider Peter’s words. “You should go for it,” he said after a moment, after Johnny looked over at them and grinned at Peter.

“What?!” Peter asked, eyes going a little wide as he looked at the man standing next to him.

“The way you two are looking at each other, it’s something special. Reminds me of my wife,” he said, the sad tone to his voice telling Peter everything.

“How long were you two married?” He asked, voice soft.

“45 years,” the man said, his face beaming with pride. “She was my world. We went through hell and back together, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Peter nodded, filled suddenly with a deep sadness. He couldn’t really remember his parents, and what their relationship was like, but he did remember May and Ben. He felt a stab of guilt that they hadn’t even come close to reaching 45 years together, all because he hadn’t done enough to help. “It sounds like you guys had an amazing relationship.” 

“We did. And I think you and that man could, too. Just give it a shot,” the man said, winking at Peter, turning and disappearing off into the crowd before Peter could thank him.

Peter took a deep breath, then turned around to look to Johnny. It seemed that he had made a friend, and was holding the hand of a little girl and twirling her around, while her chaperone looked on with delight and adoration. The girl was laughing so hard she was squealing, and Peter felt his heart skip a beat.

He had feelings for Johnny Storm. Oh god.

He looked away quickly when he met Val’s eyes, because the knowing smirk on her face was just too much.

After such a life-alternating realization, Peter did what he does best: he ran away. Well, not so much ran, as kept to himself. He stayed out later patrolling, even if it left him less time for grading. He was going to run himself ragged, he knew from years of experience doing the same thing, but he couldn’t face Johnny. There was no way the other man had feelings for him, too.

He spotted a menorah added in the lobby too, and had to convince himself that it didn’t mean anything if Johnny put that there. It did spark a lovely conversation with one of the front desk employees, though, and inspired him to add a few decorations for Diwali as well.

He thought he was doing a pretty good job of hiding, anyway. It lasted for a couple days, until two things happened.

The first was that the silence of his apartment, after all the time spent doing his work up in the Storm’s, was almost oppressive. He’d just about had enough of it.

The second was that Val, unsurprisingly, cornered him one afternoon when he was trying to sneak into the lab to make some more web fluid. “Uh, hi,” he mumbled.

“You’ve been avoiding us,” she accused him, and Peter immediately felt bad. He was only intentionally avoiding Johnny… he hadn’t meant to upset the kids, too. He opened his mouth to protest, but Val pressed on. “It’s because of my uncle, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” Peter asked, trying to feign innocence.

“Come on, Peter,” Val sighed. “I saw the way you were looking at him the other night.”

He wanted to protest again, but he knew better when he saw the look on her face. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What?” Val asked. “Of course it matters.”

Peter let out a bitter laugh. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I’ll tell you what I understand,” she began, and oh boy. Peter could see he was in for it from the expression on her face, and he’d never felt smaller than this moment, when he was being lectured by a pre-teen whose face held more conviction than it had any right to. “I understand you two are idiots who are totally in love.” Peter made a sound of protest, trying to cut in, but Val held up her hand. “You might not have realized it, but I see the way you are around each other.”

“We’re friends,” Peter said, weakly.

Val shook her head. “No, Peter, you don’t get it. When you’re around, Johnny’s smiling, happy. And you are, too. When you aren’t around, he just locks himself away in his office, writing and losing track of time. I don’t think he’s sad, he just gets in a zone where he doesn’t take care of himself as much. I don’t think he would emerge from his office if we didn’t check in on him, and if you weren’t around, especially since Franklin and I are pretty self-sufficient. He’s always been distant this time of year, and I think that’s why mom wanted to leave us with him, to force him into some holiday spirit. It happens in small bits, but even more so when you’re around. You don’t look like you’re doing so hot without him, either.”

“How are you so smart?”

Val shrugged. “I’m observant. Also, have you met my parents?”

Peter couldn’t help himself and snorted out a small laugh at that. “Okay, fair.” He then sobered up, thinking back on what she’d said to him. “What’s up with him and the holidays?”

“I’m not really sure,” Val admitted. “He’s never talked to us about it, but mom always just stares sadly at him. I think it’s because it reminds him of his parents.”

Well, if that isn’t a kick to the emotional gut. The fact that she doesn’t say _my grandparents_ is pretty telling. “Yeah,” Peter breathed, “I know that feeling. How… long ago?”

“I think mom and Johnny were pretty young,” Val said, sad. “They don’t really like talking about it. I think… Uncle Johnny takes it harder, because at least Mom has me, Franklin, and Dad.”

Peter nodded, then sighed. “Okay, so, yeah. I like him. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Of course it does! You guys belong together!” Val exclaimed.

Peter fought the urge to roll his eyes, if only because she was being so earnest it was kind of adorable. “I’d love that, but he probably doesn’t want me.”

Val did actually roll her eyes at him. “Did you not listen to me say that he’s happiest when he’s around you?”

Peter stared at her with a raised eyebrow. “That doesn’t mean anything, Valeria.”

She sighed, deep and suffering. “You know, for a genius, you’re pretty damn stupid, Peter Parker.”

“Hey!” Peter said, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning at her, like he’d never heard that statement before in his life.

“He likes you, Peter. But you’re both too stubborn and stupid to actually do anything about it.”

Peter took a deep breath, nodding slow after a moment. “I… okay. So I need to seduce him?”

“You don’t need to seduce him, you idiot, he already wants you. You just need to ask him out,” she said. “Franklin agrees, by the way.”

“Oh does he?” Peter asked, sarcastic.

Val nodded, serious. “He does. And he is currently convincing Johnny to take us out to play hockey.”

“And let me guess,” Peter said, “That plan involves me coming with so you have even teams?”

“There’s hope for you yet!” Val cried out, clapping and taking Peter’s hand to lead him to where Franklin and Johnny were.

* * *

The moment that Peter walked in to the room, Johnny paused in arguing with Franklin. It had been days since he’d seen the other man, and quite frankly, he looked like shit. “She talk you into it?” He asked Peter, nodding to Valeria.

“How’d you guess?” Peter asked, tone completely dry. Johnny snorted with laughter. “So what’s the issue with it?”

Johnny shrugged. He refused to say out loud to anyone that part of the reason he didn’t want to go anywhere was because he hadn’t heard from Peter in days… not since their last attempt to go out and spend time together, in fact. “I’ve got work to do.”

“And the kids are bored and want to spend some time with their uncle,” Peter pointed out.

Johnny made a face at him for that, even though he knew it was true. Reed and Sue would be coming home in a couple of days, just in time for Christmas, and the kids would get swept up with their parents and the holiday. He would have more time to write, sure, but he also would get less time with them because of it.

When Peter noticed Johnny hesitating, he glanced briefly at Val (which itself was a bit weird, but okay), and then spoke again. “Okay, how about this. We go play a game of hockey. I’m terrible, I’ll probably get injured early on so we can get dinner after. Then we come back here, the kids can watch a movie, and you and I can sit here with them and do work.”

“Please, Johnny?” Franklin asked, giving him the big, pleading eyes.

Johnny sighed. It wasn’t a bad compromise, really. He didn’t want to give Peter the satisfaction, but then again… “Alright, fine.”

The kids both cheered and ran to their rooms to get ready, while Peter smiled at him. It’s tired, and soft, and Johnny’s pretty sure it’s one of his favorite looks on Peter. He could get used to seeing it every day.

Huh. That’s new. Maybe Val… had a point. If Johnny didn’t want to give Peter satisfaction, however, he absolutely did not want to give his niece any type of satisfaction whatsoever. “You might want to change,” Johnny suggested, glancing at the nerdy t-shirt that Peter wore over a worn pair of sweatpants.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Peter blushed. “I’ll go do that… meet you down in the lobby in twenty?”

Johnny nodded. “Sounds good.” He stared after Peter as he left.

“You’re in love,” Franklin sang, walking back into the room.

Johnny rolled his eyes at his nephew. “I am absolutely not, you brat. Don’t listen to your sister’s horrible ideas.”

“Technically,” Franklin said, grabbing a Peppermint Patty from the bowl of candy Johnny had put out and then sitting at the kitchen island, “you put the ideas in my head in the first place.”

“I… what?” Johnny asked, staring at Franklin in confusion before his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh God, you too?!” Franklin grinned. “My books are not at all real relationships,” Johnny groaned. “Also, you’re too damn young for them too.”

“We are just supporting our uncle, who we love very much,” Val said primly as she walked out and sat down next to her brother.

Johnny rolled his eyes, rubbing at his temples. “You two are awful. Absolute terrors.” He kept going, complaining lightly about them and teasing them until he disappeared in his room to change.

Peter had not been lying. True to his word, he was an absolutely abysmal hockey player. Johnny and the kids weren’t even that good, but Peter made them look like the damn New York Rangers (which made Johnny Henrik, because, _come on_ , obviously). Poor Franklin had been so excited to have his science buddy on his team, but Peter was a mess. Such a mess, in fact, that Johnny traded Val to Franklin’s team for the promise of some cookies later, making it a three-on-one game.

(“ _Wow_ ,” Peter griped when it happened. “I’m hurt. Really. I got dressed up to come out here and play, and you’re practically benching me?”

“You’re literally wearing jeans and a sweatshirt with a dog on it, Peter.”

“Real rich coming from the one wearing a hoodie with Spider-man’s logo on it.”

“Yeah, well, Spider-man is cooler than you. And can probably play hockey.”

“Thor is cooler than you and Spider-man _combined_.”

“Guys, can we drop the puck, _please_?”)

For all that Johnny had been griping about coming because he wasn’t feeling like leaving the house, he was having fun. Their games were a mess, but it made it all the more interesting. When it got to the point where Peter slid into the net more than the actual puck, Johnny decided to call it and suggested a shootout, him in net and whoever scored the least had to do dishes the next day (“Johnny, that’s not fair because then you don’t have to do them at all!” “I’m the adult here, I make the rules.” “Then what is Peter?” “The worst.”). Not surprisingly, Peter lost, but when he scored a goal in his final attempt, everyone cheered and pounced on him in a pile of limbs, hats and gloves flying everywhere.

Johnny looked down at Peter, grinning at the look on the man’s face. He was flushed with a mixture of laughter and exertion, and Johnny wanted nothing more than to kiss him right then and there. His eyes met Peter’s, and he swore he saw the same desire expressed there.

The moment passed, though, when Valeria squirmed, elbowing him in the gut. Besides, he had to be seeing things. “Okay, okay, let’s go return this stuff and get some dinner.”

It took them a few moments, but they managed to untangle themselves and stand up before returning everything and heading out to get dinner.

* * *

It was properly domestic, later that night. The fireplace was lit, the flames low enough to be more atmospheric than a source of heat. Franklin and Valeria had a huge bowl of popcorn between them on the couch, despite not only having dinner but milkshakes, as they watched _Elf_ , reciting nearly all the lines along with the movie. Peter sat in an armchair nearby, laptop on his lap so he could catch up on student emails, a huge, steaming mug of hot cocoa, topped with whipped cream, next to him. Johnny sat on the floor, his laptop sitting on the coffee table and piles of notes spread out all around him as he worked, careful not to spill his own hot cocoa, which was nearly overflowing with marshmallows.

Peter tried to concentrate on his emails, he really did. It was just… difficult to answer the same questions about the location of the final exam or claims of attendance on a day they hadn’t gotten credit for, when Johnny was sitting _right there_. His face was furrowed in concentration as he wrote, pen between his teeth and forgotten about. Peter wanted to run his fingers over Johnny’s face; he wanted to be the one kissing those lips.

When he heard a cough from the couch, he glanced over, to see Valeria giving him a knowing look. He rolled his eyes at her, nodding with his head to the TV. She rolled her eyes right back, but did turn her attention back to the screen.

Other than the crunch of popcorn, clicking of keys on the keyboard, and the sound of the movie, it was comfortably silent for a while, so Peter forced himself to focus back on the emails so he could go out patrolling after the movie ended.

That is, until Johnny’s voice suddenly rang out, “Santa! I know him!”, anyway.

Peter looked up, startled, and noticed that Johnny hadn’t even looked up from his writing. This, of course, made Peter burst out into laughter. Johnny looked up at Peter, a pleased little smile on his face before he looked back down at his laptop. Peter continued to look at Johnny for a few more seconds, trying not to sigh with how much he felt for the man.

He blinked himself out of it, taking a long sip of his cocoa and turning his attention back to his own laptop. He was going to send out one email to the class, he decided, because he was sick of answering the same question over and over again individually.

When the movie ended, Peter stretched his arms over his head, arching his back and making a satisfied sound when it cracked just right. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Johnny’s eyes drift to the sliver of skin that was exposed with the riding up of Peter’s shirt, and it took everything in Peter not to smirk.

Okay, so maybe Valeria wasn’t kidding.

Peter finished up the last of his cocoa, and closed his laptop so that he could stand up. “I’m gonna get going, I promised Aunt May that I would call her before her shows tonight.”

Johnny stood up quickly as well, not noticing the look between Franklin and Val. “I’ll walk you out.”

Peter fought the urge to roll his eyes and laugh, at least, but he wouldn’t be Peter Parker if he didn’t quip back. “I might get lost, thank you.”

Johnny blinked for a moment, realized that Peter was teasing him, then proceeded to give him the finger. “I hope you do.”

Peter laughed, slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder and wrapping an arm around Johnny’s shoulder. “I know you do, Storm. Now come on, kick me out of your apartment. Bye kiddos!”

“Bye Peter!” They said in unison, pausing in their argument of which movie to watch next.

Johnny laughed, wrapping an arm around Peter’s waist and leading him out of the room. Peter was about to open the door and walk out, but Johnny stopped him. “Thanks,” he said, voice soft.

Peter tilted his head in confusion. “For what?”

Johnny shrugged, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Just… everything, you know? Convincing me to get out of the house tonight. Being so good to the kids.”

There was more to it than Johnny was saying, Peter could tell. “You’re welcome. Uh, thank you, too.”

“For the Star?” Johnny asked, frowning a little in confusion.

“Well, that too,” Peter laughed a little, blushing. “It’s been… nice. I don’t know how much Franklin’s told you about me. I basically lost my apartment a month ago, and Reed let me stay here while I look for something else, since it’s the holidays and money’s kind of… well, tight.” Johnny frowned, his face unreadable, but he didn’t speak, so Peter continued on. “Getting to spend time with you guys has… helped.”

“Helped?” Johnny asked.

Peter nodded. “Aunt May always tells me that she can tell when I’m stressed or depressed, because I hide away and shut everyone out. Keeping you from doing that has kept me out of my own head.”

Johnny softened, and they just stared at each other for a quiet moment.

“Can I?” Peter asked, tentatively reaching out, cupping Johnny’s cheek with the lightest touch. Johnny stared for a split second, then nodded. Peter leaned in, and as their lips were about to touch, a yell interrupted them from the other room.

“Joooohnnny,” Franklin whined loudly. “Val spilled all the popcorn!”

“I did not!” Val yelled back.

Johnny rested his forehead against Peter’s, both of them laughing. “Guess that’s my cue to check out what they’re getting into.”

Peter nodded, grinning. “Guess so.” He pressed his thumb to Johnny’s lips before pulling away. “Now go, before one breaks the other’s arm.”

“You joke, but it’s entirely possible,” Johnny said solemnly, making Peter laugh again before he ducked out the door, closing it behind him. He leaned back against the door, closing his eyes and laughing to himself as he listened to Johnny scolding Val and Franklin not for spilling the popcorn, but for interrupting a moment.

Peter took a deep breath, still grinning as he stood up and went to walk to his apartment. This was going to be a good call with May.

Suddenly, it seemed like it was impossible for Peter and Johnny to find time to be alone together. It was finals week for Peter, so not only did he have exams to proctor and grade, but he had to submit his own progress reports for his projects. As a result, he barely even had the time or energy to patrol for more than an hour or two. He spent some time with Johnny and the kids, but they were swept up in getting everything done before Sue and Reed returned.

Finally, _finally_ , it was Saturday. He still had grading to do, but he’d put a significant dent in it, and he’d turned in everything he needed to. He decided to celebrate by treating himself to one of the fancy coffees from the place in the lobby that Johnny had gotten him addicted to.

“Hey, stranger.” Speak of the devil.

Peter grinned, going to stand in line behind Johnny. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Really, guys?” the barista, who was by now incredibly used to their antics, said, rolling her eyes at them. She was definitely hiding a smile, though.

Johnny winked at her, paying for the drinks – including Peter’s, damn it – before turning to face him. “Busy day today?”

“Nope,” Peter said, popping the ‘p’. “I am officially procrastinating and putting all of my grading off until later tonight. As long as I can get it done before tomorrow, I’ll be good. I always spend the first night of Hanukkah with Aunt May.”

“Well it’s a good thing Reed and Sue come home tomorrow so I’ll be too busy to want to spend time with you anyway,” Johnny laughed. “But if you’re free now, both the kids are out with friends.”

“So you’ve got the whole penthouse to yourself, huh?” Peter teased, using the humor to cover his nerves and sudden burst of anxiety.

“Well, yes,” Johnny laughed, looking a little shy himself. “But I was… hoping maybe you’d want to go out and grab lunch with me?”

Peter stared for a moment, in shock; he was positive he’d be the one who wound up eventually asking Johnny out, but in fact the man had beaten him to it. “Are you asking me out on a date, Johnny Storm?”

“I am, Peter Parker,” Johnny replied.

“Finally,” the barista, Sam, muttered under her breath, and both Johnny and Peter’s heads whipped around to look at her.

“ _What?!_ ” they asked, in perfect unison.

She laughed at them. “I totally thought you guys were dating this whole time, until Val told me otherwise. She’s been working so hard on getting you together, she’ll be so glad to know it’s finally happening and I got to witness it.”

“Oh my god,” Peter muttered under his breath, while Johnny shook his head.

“So much for your tip,” he scolded, though they both began to laugh. Sam knew how completely full of it he was, after all. As expected, once she handed them their drinks, Johnny threw a tip in the jar for her.

“Such a pushover,” Peter teased, waving to Sam before walking to the entrance. “I was going to go for a walk while it’s sunny out and not terribly cold. Join me while we drink these?”

Johnny rolled his eyes at the teasing, but followed Peter. “Okay. We can stop if we pass a place that looks good.”

Peter nodded, and they began walking together, talking about their day so far.

* * *

The next night, after the kids had gone to bed, Johnny sat with Sue and Reed, having beers and catching up since he’d last seen them.

“What do you think of Peter?” Reed asked.

Johnny fought not to blush, thinking back on his date with Peter from the other day. After walking around and talking, they’d found a little Italian place where they’d had a nice lunch. It had been a while since he’d had the desire, or time, to even think about going on a date, let alone go on one. But Peter, he was special. “He’s nice,” Johnny said, not knowing how much Peter would want to share.

“Nice?” Sue smirked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep,” Johnny said, trying not to smirk right back. “Seems nice.”

“That’s not what the kids say about you two,” Sue teased.

Johnny groaned at that; he should have guessed the terrors would rat on him. It was fine. He could get them back. “Those same kids also read my novels, by the way. I feel like that is coloring their judgement a little bit.”

He felt a thrill at the look on both his sister and his brother in law’s faces, but that smugness was followed by a sudden fear. What if they thought he was encouraging them to read the books, and was a bad influence?

“I’m going to have to have words with them,” Sue sighed. “Have the good old birds and the bees, or any combination thereof, talk. They probably shouldn’t be reading that kind of stuff, but if they do, I want them to be fully informed.”

Johnny blinked in surprise. That was not the response he was expecting, at all.

“Look, Johnny. If you are interested in Peter, we won’t judge,” Reed said, turning the conversation back around, much to Johnny’s dismay.

“Even if I’m stealing your protégé?” Johnny asked, a smirk playing at his lips.

Reed rolled his eyes. “Even you could never fully steal that man from science. I’m not worried about that.”

Johnny looked back and forth between the two of them, and sighed after a moment. “Okay, fine. We went on a date yesterday. It was our first one- don’t make a thing of it.”

To Johnny’s surprise, Reed held out his hand to Sue, who groaned. “My wallet’s in my bag.”

“What?” Johnny sputtered.

Reed laughed. “We agreed that Peter’s your type. I said you’d wind up with him while we were gone, Sue said on New Year’s Eve.”

“I genuinely hate you,” Johnny said, a look of betrayal on his face as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

“No you don’t,” Reed said, standing up and leaning in to give Sue a quick kiss. “I’m going to go unpack and get some sleep. Don’t stay up too late, you two.”

“Yes dad,” Johnny said.

Once Reed left, Sue turned back to Johnny. “So, Peter.”

“Yes, Peter. What about Peter?” Johnny asked, mostly to be a pain.

“That didn’t take long after meeting, did it?” Sue asked.

Johnny shrugged, his face heating up. “Guess not. We started hanging out because I dragged him over when he was too tired to remember to meet. Then he started convincing me to go out and do holiday stuff. And he’s hot. He’s no Spider-man, but he’s hot and he’s just… nice to be around.”

Sue sighed, a happy, dreamy little smile on her face, before she settled into something more serious. “He actually got you into the Christmas spirit?”

Johnny squirmed. “I don’t know if I’d go that far, but… more than I usually am, let’s go with that.”

Sue had an expression on her face that looked like she wanted to be both sad and happy at the same time. It kind of drove Johnny nuts. He wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal to his sister whether or not he was as into the Christmas spirit as the rest of them were. What difference did it make if he didn’t want to go around singing cheesy Christmas carols and wearing ridiculous hats and sweaters? He still got his family gifts, and still celebrated with them the day of. It was good enough for him; why couldn’t it be good enough for everyone else?

An idea suddenly came to Johnny’s mind. “Speaking of Peter and the holidays… can we do something for him to thank him for all the decorating he did in the building?”

“Of course,” Sue said easily. “What did you have in mind?”

The next evening, Johnny shifted anxiously as he waited for Peter to show up. He’d tried to do some quick research before his surprise for Peter, with the help of Sue and Reed. He’d spent the day running around the city, determined to make this special.

“For someone who hates the holidays, you sure are going all out,” Reed observed.

Johnny blushed, shrugging but not saying anything in return. He was saved from any further observations when there was a knock on the door. “Behave,” he hissed to everyone. They all put angelic looks on their faces, making Johnny snort.

He rushed to the door, opening it up. “Hi,” he smiled at Peter, a little shy.

“Hey,” Peter murmured, a smile on his face as well. He actually looked rested, and comfortable and happy in a sweater and tight jeans. Peter leaned in, pressing a feather-light kiss to Johnny’s lips before realizing what Johnny was wearing. He burst out into laughter at the cheesy Hanukkah sweater, complete with flickering flames over the menorah. “What’s all this?”

“Come on in,” Johnny said instead of answering the question, moving aside to let Peter in, walking with him in silence until they got to the dining room. He paused, letting Peter go in first so that he could see what Johnny and his family had been hard at work on. There was a variety of (what Johnny hoped was) traditional Jewish food spread across the table, including a tower of latkes that was so high he could barely see Val behind it, and the room was decorated to the brim. Johnny watched, fraught with nerves, for Peter’s reaction to the surprise.

“You… what?” Peter asked, eyes widening as he turned around to face Johnny.

Johnny grinned, shrugging a little. “You told me you’ve been having a rough time, and you’ve seemed really stressed out for a while. Your place didn’t have the holiday cheer that you put everywhere else, so we wanted to do that for you. Reed wouldn’t let me break into your apartment, so this is the closest thing.”

Peter stared at Johnny, then burst out into laughter. “You were going to break into my apartment?”

“Of course _that’s_ what you latch on to,” Johnny sighed. He shook his head. “I go through all of this work for you, and all – “

He’s interrupted from his dramatics when Peter suddenly wrapped his arms around him, hugging Johnny tightly. Johnny hugged Peter back, catching Sue’s eye and grinning at her. “Thank you,” Peter murmured, his voice sounding a tad bit shaky. He pulled back enough that he could press a kiss to Johnny’s mouth. Johnny kissed him back, rolling his eyes at the cheering coming from Val. “I thought you hated the holidays,” Peter said, taking a step back but grabbing on to Johnny’s hand and squeezing.

Johnny shrugged. “It’s… not so much hate. Don’t really get the hype, maybe? Miss my parents? It’s hard to explain. But seeing the joy on your face, even for a holiday you don’t celebrate,” he nodded when Peter interrupted to say that technically, he kind of did celebrate Christmas, “Okay, a holiday that you partially celebrate, was a little… infectious?”

The grin that spread over Peter’s face was absolutely blinding, so much so that Johnny nearly had to take a step back, so overwhelmed by it. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“Great, so can we eat now?” Franklin piped up, making all of them burst out into laughter.

It wasn’t until after they finished eating that Peter chose to point out that technically, matzah was a Passover thing and not a Hanukkah thing. Johnny was mortified, but Peter reassured him that it was okay because it was still delicious, and he tried.

Once they cleaned up, Peter taught them the blessings and explained the proper way to light the candles. “Do you want to do the honors, Johnny?”

Johnny blinked in confusion. “Me? But I’m not Jewish. I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable doing it. I’d probably forget to go left to right.”

“There’s two candles, Johnny, it’s not that hard,” Peter rolled his eyes playfully.

“You should do it together!” Val suggested.

Both Peter and Johnny could barely conceal their snickers at her excitement. “I don’t think that would quite work with these candles, Val,” Johnny laughed. “I think Peter should do it.”

When everyone else nodded in agreement, Peter shrugged and began to recite the blessings, both in Hebrew and English, lighting the two candles.

“Now,” Peter said, turning back around to face everyone. “I don’t suppose you have a dreidel and gelt?”

“Do we ever!” Johnny exclaimed. He grabbed and held up what, judging by Peter’s expression, was possibly the biggest back of chocolate coins in the world.

Peter smirked, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s do this. Everyone get comfy, and prepare to have your asses kicked.”

Johnny rolled his eyes as he sat down. He leaned back in his seat, half listening to Peter, just watching him and how enthused he was to be explaining this game to the family. He felt his heart melt a little bit when Peter looked over at him with a big smile.

Johnny probably would never be someone who was super enthusiastic about the holidays, but it felt good to be able to create that joy and see the spirit on someone else’s face, and creating those memories was absolutely worth it to him.

* * *

Achievements earned as part of the Holiday Movie Challenge 2019. Click [here](https://heamarvel.tumblr.com/holiday) for more info!

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**Author's Note:**

> feel free to come chat with me about my fic at @glazed-sun on tumblr!


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